Brave New World
by DaenerysTargary3n
Summary: Leaves canon end of season 4. Roger does not return with Claire and Jamie but goes back to 1969. Those left in the past must move forward and learn to live in a brave new world. Contains scenes of a sexual nature, Lord John and Brianna slightly OOC. Rated T. Pairings John Brianna (main); Jamie Claire; Fergus Marsali.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **_**Outlander**_** does not belong to me, but Diana Gabaldon and Starz. This is a short story about Brianna and Lord John (I really don't like Roger as a character) and the life they could start if Roger chose not to return. This is the prologue of a 10-chapter story. Please don't leave me reviews about how you love Roger and how OOC Brianna and Lord John are, as I've said this in the story summary. If this interests you, do please read it and leave me reviews on the writing etc - they always make my day. This picks up in the last episode of Season 4. I haven't done a lot regarding the historical events or context - it's a fluffy character story. **

**Happy Reading,**

**DaenerysTargary3n**

**Prologue**

_River Run Plantation, Cross Creek, N. Carolina 1769_

First, there was crying. Then, there came silence. After that, it was screaming. Now, it was survival.

Ever since she had heard Phaedra tell her her parents had been spotted careening up the long drive to the house at River Run two days ago, Brianna Randall Fraser's world had been irrevocably changed. She had expected during her long wait for the return of her mama and da that Roger would be with them and the pair of them along with her bouncing baby boy only weeks old would have a happy future ahead of as a family.

That was not to be. Her parents had returned to her but without her handfast husband and also her surprise cousin, Ian, who had traded himself for Roger's liberty. Liberty that had enabled Roger to go through the stones once more back to 1969 and the life he wished for there. He had chosen his future and foresworn their vows to each other in the aftermath of discovering that the baby she had just birthed most likely was not of his blood.

Brianna could not bring herself to blame Roger for his choice. They had fought and things were said on both sides to make the other's heart bleed. She also understood from her mother that his suffering at the hands of the Mohawk - and before that, her own father - was great and he seemed much changed from the Roger that played guitar and sang with an angel-sent voice. That man was gone and _that _had been the man she had fallen in love with. This new Roger MacKenzie had been ravaged by the ferocity of the past into which he had ventured to find her and could not stomach further when he was meant for a time centuries in the future.

"Brianna," a soft, male voice called from the other side of her bedchamber door, "will you come down, please?"

"Yes, I'll be right down." She replied, wiping away tears she had not known fell on her cheek.

That voice that had roused her from her internal turmoil belonged to the man that was slowly balming the pain that came from the loss of Roger. He had come into her life as a surprise and a friend to her father, whom she had not yet forgiven for his role in Roger's suffering, but during her confinement at River Run and after avoiding a marriage to Gerald Forbes, Esquire, he had become indispensable to her as her confidant, unassuming hero and now...her fiancé.

As Brianna glided down the stairs, her dark green muslin dress trailing slightly behind her, she heard the raised voices of her parents.

"Oh, crap!"

Entering the room that contained Jamie Fraser, his temper flaring as red as his fiery hair and his wife, Claire, known in two times for her braw spirit, Brianna winced at her saviour's place on the receiving end of their combined ire.

"What in God's name did you think you were doing, ye good fer nothing blaigeard?! I sent ye to gi' her a letter and see she was alright. Ye had my trust - ye've always had my trust, John - to see her a'right in my absence. I cannae believe that you would use this moment to snatch away her chance for happiness wi'another and insinuate yerself further into my family!"

"Jamie, stop." Claire interjected after seeing her prey blanch at her husband's assault, "I am the least pleased by this whole...arrangement that Brianna and Lord John have made, but, I do not believe with all I know about him and you that he took advantage of her. And, if you were less angry and felt less guilty right now, you would see that too. Brianna, why don't you sit with us and we can discuss what to do for everyone's benefit?"

Jamie turned about to face his only daughter, having not realised she had joined their party. His expression softened instantly and he moved towards her to place a soft kiss atop hair that was as red as his own.

"Come, a leannan. We've been waiting for you. We have much to discuss the four of us."

Despite her father's arm leading her to sit beside her mother, she turned away and placed herself at Lord John's side. The subtle smile that graced his lips as she did so was not missed by any of the Frasers.

Once Jamie sat beside his wife and she took his hand in hers (whether out of love, comfort or to more quickly restrain him from violence against one of his oldest friends was anyone's guess), he asked, "Will ye both tell me what possessed ye to enter into this...agreement that we now cannae break without destroying yer reputations and any chance that sweet boy upstairs has of being respectable?"

"Da, put simply: I needed help. You and mama weren't here. Aunt Jocasta was lining up suitors to marry me in case _he _didn't come back so I would be left with a child born out of wedlock and ruin our family name. You very nearly came back to find me Mrs Forbes. To avoid that fate - a fate I would have _left_ to avoid - Lord John came to my rescue and agreed to _my _proposal, even though I made it in the worst way possible. He forgave me and since then we have become friends and I would thank you not to speak to him as you were when I came in."

Claire's brow furled, "What do you mean 'in the worst way', Bree?"

Brianna made to speak, but Lord John patted her on the hand to silence her, "Mistress Fraser, your daughter is a tremendous credit to you. She is a strong and immensely capable and kind young lady. In a moment of fear, she attempted to use my particular weakness, which is no secret to anyone in this room, having become aware of it in a manner that is no business of yours. That is all to be said on that count. We have since put that moment behind us and I care a great deal for your daughter." Lord John looked over at Jamie, "and I only sought to protect her and give her - and her child - the benefit of my name and standing."

Jamie huffed, "Ach well, it's done now. I admit," he paused and held Lord John's gaze, "I was shocked when my aunt told me of your engagement. I left you wi' a letter and came back to find you my future son-in-law. After all we've been to each other, John, it's still a lot to digest. I do apologise though for me temper and for assuming the worst. I've always been a fool for my children, as well you know it, and after we lost Roger through a fault that was mostly mine, I couldna see my Bree hurt further. If ye have found some happiness together in friendship, then I can bless yer union."

Both men rose and embraced each other. Lord John smiling easily and relaxed in the knowledge that the soul he treasured most in the world (along with his boy) was no longer boiling mad at him.

"Well, that's that then," Claire announced with a smile. Her husband was at times a foolish lout with a fast temper and quick to violence, but he was also - and often at the same time - a man who would suffer anything, undergo any trial and swallow his Highland Laird pride for the love of his family.

Bree smiled at her mother and rose to embrace her da. "So, it seems we have a wedding to celebrate."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: This is a filler chapter if there ever was one. I think the lock down having actually had CoronaVirus has affected my writing so I'm only midway happy with this chapter but as it's not of immense importance I thought I'd post it anyway. As always reviews are welcome and I hope you keep reading - more exciting and important stuff to come - Brianna and John bond; Brianna and William meet; The Wedding etc.**

**Happy Reading,**

**DaenerysTargary3n**

**Chapter II**

"This is a fine residence, Monsieur, very civilised for the New World, I must say." Fergus said, offering his prospective brother-in-law a friendly grin.

"Thank you, Mr. Fraser. I will admit, it is mostly thanks to a Mr. Carlyle who operated plantations hereabouts until quite recently when he was forced to retire to England for...pecuniary reasons."

Jamie rose his head from his excellent plate of roasted veal, "Taxes, do ye mean, John?"

"Alas, yes."

The Fraser-Grey-Cameron group were a grand party of seven for dinner at the Wilmington house. Lord John had gone to great scruples and expense to ease the tension amongst his future in-laws. He had always known the Frasers were a headstrong bunch and once they had set their mind against some course of action, or more importantly, _someone_, they tended to stick to their guns. Despite Jamie and Claire's professed support of their daughter's choice, he knew they were still recalcitrant. They could not see the need both John and Brianna had for a marriage of expediency and as she knew his secret and he knew her own they were well-matched.

"Brigitte," Lord John called to the serving girl, "I do believe Miss Fraser's goblet could be refreshed."

"Yes, m'lord," the young girl smiled at her master and took the wine carafe to pour for her new mistress, "here you are, mistress."

"Very nice set up, ye've got yerself here, Lord John, as my husband said. How did ye come to be pals with Jamie? I cannae imagine him keeping friends so rich and English too."

"Thank ye, Marsali, ye always were a kind-hearted, complimentary sort of girl." Jamie retorted jovially, smiling at the glint in her eye as she teased him.

Lord John guffawed comfortably at the younger Mistress Fraser's directness. He relished the time he and Jamie had spent building their friendship and the telling of it when asked.

"Well, we came to know each other during…less than favourable circumstances after Culloden. Jamie had emerged as the leader of the prisoners in Ardsmuir and I, as its warden, found it prudent to make him a friend rather than foe. Quickly, over our conversations and chess games, we found we were not so different though he was a highlander and I come from a noble family in England. You might say that when Jamie was paroled he also introduced me to my late wife, Isobel, who was one of the daughters at Helwater."

Claire looked at her husband at the mention of Helwater and witnessed his eyes glaze over as he recalled his time at the Dunsany estate and his time with William and his mother. With a start, it dawned on her that Bree was about to become stepmother to her own brother utterly unbeknownst to her. This dinner was not the forum to discuss the topic of William and broaching it with Bree but Claire made a note to bring it up with Jamie in private.

"How did your wife pass, if you don't mind me asking?" Jocasta piped up.

With a sad smile, John replied, "Isobel died of the flux on her journey to Jamaica where she was to meet me. She would have loved the Caribbean and the sunshine. It is one of my greatest regrets that I never got to say goodbye to her and thank her before she was taken from me. Fortunately, I am most settled in America, so no more long sea voyages for my loved ones to take ill on and expire. Brianna will be quite safe from that."

The corners of Mistress Cameron's lips turned up - she had asked to determine that Lord John took care of his previous wife and it was unavoidable natural causes of which the last Lady Grey died, not something caused by lack of care by her husband. Over the time Brianna had spent at her home, Jocasta had become intensely fond of her great-niece and she knew Lord John had been accepted for the sake of the new baby but she did not wish the girl unhappy or peril in her marriage to someone she had not taken for love.

"Ach, John, we're not worried for Brianna in that respect. Dinna fash yourself over that."

"No, indeed, Lord John," Jocasta added, "I was merely curious, but it was impertinent of me to evoke memories of past grief for you. My apologies."

Lord John waved off her apology amicably but Brianna unexpectedly took her intended's hand and held it in comfort. This attracted the attention of everyone at-table, except Jocasta, but invited smiles from her adopted brother and sister-in-law and caused her parents to share a quick glance that spoke mute volumes. Lord John's reaction was of surprise and awe as his eyes took in the sight of their joined hands.

Isobel had always been receptive to him and his fleeting desire for physical intimacy. As he had already informed his wife-to-be, he had serviced her in line with his duty as her husband. Though he had always initiated any moment in which they touched or came together, she had never sought to lay her hands on him uninvited. Brianna had. Brianna had seen his moment of vulnerability and instinctively given him comfort through her touch. It was novel, but pleasant.

Squeezing his fiancée's hand before releasing it, John asked her, "Let us talk of happier things. My dear, have you thought further about a name for the boy?"

"Yes, we are all curious to know me grandson's name, a leannan."

"Well, you will all have to be curious for a while longer," Bree rebutted, "because nothing has seemed right yet. It is quite the task naming a human being and I want his name to fit."

As the servants were laying the table full of roast meats and cleverly constructed vegetable towers with sauces as far as the eye could see, Lord John said, "Well, I hope whatever you decide on sounds good with 'The Honourable' before it."

"How do you mean, John?" Brianna asked, fully perplexed.

Lord John looked up from filling his plate and smiled kindly, "Well, as _my_ son, he will be entitled to not only bear the moniker of Grey but he will also be styled 'The Honourable' as befits the son of an English Lord without his own _suo jure _title. He will have _every _assurance of legitimacy, Brianna, and he will grow up as a scion of one of England's great families, though I am but a minor member."

Though she had comprehended how her marriage would confer respectability on her child and her than if she were to remain unattached in this day and age, Brianna - brought up as she was in 20th century America where titles and peerage are nonexistent - hadn't envisaged that marrying Lord John Grey, Earl of Melton, son of His Grace The Duke of Pardloe would make her Lady Grey and her son The Honourable Name-To-Be-Decided Grey. It was, in short, more than Brianna Fraser could have hoped for.

"By your kindness and honour," Brianna murmured, admiring her fiancé with dewy eyes, "you are surely the best of your family. There can be no doubt about it. _Our_ son and I will spend our lifetimes convincing you of that if need be, John. You are the best of men."

Brianna and Lord John might have gotten lost in each other's gaze over their dinner had Claire not let out a sharp gasp at her daughter's words.

"What is it, sassenach?" Jamie asked, leaning over to his wife across the table.

"I think our daughter has found her match, Jamie, and I think, even with their _obstacles, _ they could find their way to love. Just as we found ours when I found my way to Scotland...and you."

"Aye, mo nighean donn, I believe you're right. Seems the only thing to do now is ready ourselves fer a journey to Virginia and a society weddin'."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Apologies for the delay, chaps and chapesses. My godfather died (not of Covid-19) on Good Friday and it's been a bit of a struggle to focus on writing. This chapter is dedicated to him as I never knew a better pair than him and my godmother, Mary. They were a match made in heaven and they had a blessed life together that was not without its hardships - they too, like Jamie and Claire, lost a child - and they also have a headstrong, talented son who has made his life in America. This is dedicated to Dr. Anthony 'Tony' Pruss and I hope you enjoy reading it.**

**DaenerysTargary3n**

**Chapter III**

It was a cool, crisp morning on Fraser's Ridge. Normally, the house would still be asleep and awaiting the cock's crow, but on this particular Wednesday morning, all had forsaken their beds already. Claire and Jamie were hitching their two mares to a wagon, Fergus and Marsali were bidding farewell to a young and weeping Germain, Murtagh was speaking softly in a corner with Jocasta while Ulysses arranged their trap and horse.

"Jamie, where's Brianna? We're ready to go once Germain is settled." Claire called over the horses' withers to her husband.

"I dinna ken. She is awake though. Have ye asked John if he's seen her?"

Claire shook her head. In truth she had forgotten that Lord John was likely to be about her daughter. Though they were engaged, she still thought of Roger - now back in his proper time - as Brianna's preferred husband. It still seemed an odd thing to her that Brianna did seem to enjoy John Grey's presence and it was unmistakable that the pair were growing closer.

"I'll go to see where they've got to." Jamie smiled, knowing full well his wife's unspoken thoughts. Though he had severe misgivings about his only daughter's decision to wed his old friend, he had come round to the idea of being his father-in-law. Jamie shook his head as he strolled over to the old hut where he could hear Brianna and John along with Lizzie. He recalled a time, another life truth be told, when he had proffered himself to Lord John as an uninclined sexual partner. John's expression and repugnance at his suggestion were seared onto his memory. He knew, without a doubt, that his daughter had found an honourable man, an unusual man in the gentry whose noble title matched his virtuous disposition. The only qualm he had was that for all his morality and grace, could this man who preferred other men as bedmates give his daughter the love he wanted for her. Only time would tell, but they would have their time.

Rapping on the wooden door, Jamie cawed, "John, Brianna, we're about ready to depart. Will ye both come? Or shall we all go te the fine house in Lynchburg and ye both can watch the Ridge?"

John turned away from his intended, "I think not. We're right behind you, Jamie. Come, Brianna." Extending his hand, in front of her lady's maid and father, John was curious to see if she would take it.

Unhesitantly, Miss Brianna Fraser - soon to be Lady Brianna Grey - slipped her dainty hand into her fiancé's and they followed her da. Lizzie was happy carrying the baby behind them. She was quite taken with her mistress' infant and was heartily glad that there would be a place made for her in the new household.

"I take it young Master Fraser has made his peace with being left behind?" John asked Jamie convivially.

"Germain will be fine with Murtagh. The old coot still has some childminding talent left in his bones. I recall many a moon spent chasing his kilt tails. They'll do fine tegether and will watch the Ridge as well as I might like."

Brianna smiled, "How long will the journey be?"

"The house in Lynchburg is a week's ride from here, I should think," John responded, "should we have fair weather and encounter no obstacles."

"Fair weather and no obstacles," Claire interjected, "that sounds like something we always wish for but rarely have."

Jamie snickered at his wife's quip, "Aye, we do seem te attract all sorts o'trouble, sassenach. Let us hope that on this occasion, Brianna and John's company will bring us more luck than is our wont."

Claire and Jamie's eyes met as they both recollected their many adventures together, all of which had been borne from absolutely nothing having fair weather and no obstacles. In fact, both owed their entire life together to the mistake that was Claire tumbling through the stones. An obstacle, to be sure, but one that had yielded such blessings - chief among them the daughter and grandson they shared.

"One day," John whispered to Brianna, "I would like to know someone so well that I can converse with them without a single word spoken aloud."

"I thought I had that with Roger, but it was apparently not to be. I think now it is off-the-cards for me."

While his in-laws-to-be were adrift in each other's eyes, Lord John witnessed his companion's expression become crestfallen. "Do not say so, Brianna. You are still young. This marriage between us, though not based in love, I trust is based in friendship. So, do not think that should you find someone to love and who will love you back that I will stand in your way. I want you to be happy - or at least, as happy as you can be. While at the moment, I hope that lies with me, should your feelings change in the future, I will not seek to divorce you or shame you or your child. I would only ask discretion in such a moment and that only for the sake of my family name and career in the Americas."

With a gentle smile, Brianna squeezed his hand and said, "John, our marriage could not have a firmer foundation in friendship if I were to marry Lizzie. I am so grateful for all you are doing for the baby and me - we'll be forever in your debt. I honestly believe that we only get one complete love in our lifetime - my parents are the proof of that - and I think Roger was mine. I'm not about to go throwing myself about hoping to find a second great love. I simply want to live an uncomplicated and as pain-free life as I can with my son. When the time comes and we can leave you in peace, I won't do anything to bring ignominy upon you or the name of Grey, which will be my own name in any case."

"Very well." John replied succinctly. He was agog at the young lady's candour. He should have expected it, he supposed, with the parents to whom she was born, but the young Miss Fraser did have the talent for surprising him in the most pleasant ways (after her initial, ill-advised proposal). He knew she wanted to leave Lynchburg and return to Fraser's Ridge as soon as it was pertinent for her to do so and he would not begrudge her that freedom. He had believed this was her intention so that she could find her second love when the right gentleman presented himself. To hear that she was committed to a future without such was an immense surprise. He himself believed he would never look upon another soul as he beheld James Fraser but the difference in their circumstances was incomparable. He would be damned if the young Miss Fraser persisted in her belief that she was doomed to merely be a mother to her child and live half a life.

"Will the four o'ye hurry yerselves and stop gawking at each other? We need te get a move on while there's daylight!" Marsali barked from her place on the wagon.

"Haud yer wheesht, ye shrew!" Jamie bellowed back. "We're going! Mount up, John, Claire. Brianna, get yerself into the wagon with Lizzie and the bairn. Let's be on our way!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter IV**

"Look there, sassenach."

Claire turned around atop her mount and her eyes alighted on the scene that had interested her husband. While Bree and Lizzie were driving the wagon, the figure astride the beautiful roan mare that trotted happily beside the ladies' wagon was her object. Lord John had in front of him, gurgling contentedly at the new experience of horseback riding, his impending stepson. Bree and Lizzie were avid spectators of the gentleman and his small charge making fun together riding Demelza, John's equine pride and joy. Claire wondered at the renewed light in her daughter's chocolate eyes, rekindled by her newfound attachment to Lord John Grey and his obvious sentiment towards her infant. She still believed the match poorly made but not as a poor reflection on the bride or groom - more that they had such obstacles with which to contend. Maybe more so than she and her muckle husband; time travel, unshared children and old loves they had in common, but attraction and slight peals of incest they would have to bear alone. For, it did not escape Claire that despite being now only one day hence from Lynchburg, their family had yet to advise Brianna of the true paternity of young William, who would be her own stepson, and her half-brother besides.

"Look, Lizzie, John is going to get him to laugh, I swear it!" Brianna chuckled at her companion.

"Indeed, mistress, I've never seen a gentleman so taken with a young'un. Such a natural with him, you are, milord, if ye'll pardon me for sayin' so." Lizzie remarked, drawing a quaint blush into her ashen cheeks.

"Miss Wemyss, as you are soon to reside with me and mine as my wife-to-be's companion, you have my permission to be as complimentary as you fancy. As for my would-be stepson here, I confess freely I am on a mission. A mission to ensure that while his mama had his first cry, his first smile and his first breath, it is I who deserve his first laugh. For the little chap has quite wormed his way into my affections and I find I must have some confirmation of his own regard for his papa."

Brianna beamed unguardedly at her fiancé. Over the past sennight, they had found each other more often in each other's company round the fire and in putting her son to bed. Always under the watchful eye of her da (as if she would ever indulge in anything he deemed improper!) and never left alone as she would have been allowed were she in her proper time. She wondered at John's attentiveness to her son. She knew him to be more kind-hearted than most of his ilk in this day and age but she never supposed that he might be so keen to be a part of her child's life.

"Who could have guessed we would have been so lucky in his papa?" Brianna pondered aloud.

John tightened his grip around the small child gurgling in his arms - truly too young to attain a laugh above a burble. Since setting out from Fraser's Ridge several days' past he had taken the tiny lad more into his care. He had missed this time when his William was a babe since until his sixth year he was under his grandfather Dunsany's care at Helwater and John had no cause to visit with the child. Having such a small one about him was a novelty, and such a novelty at that, for the man who had never imagined he would experience the joys of fatherhood to any child let alone the two he had the fortune to inherit. He loved William with all his heart and it was the joy of his life and the light of his days when he was with him, but this new charge of his who needed him for his name and care of his mother was swift becoming a source of equal joy. It had begun to trouble John, furthermore, that Brianna might one day escape her need of her one-time saviour and remove this sweet, innocent, beguiling cherub from his care. And if she and he went, so too would a portion of his heart newly opened.

"Do you truly think yourself lucky, my dear?" John asked, his reverie broken by her remark.

"Oh, I have no doubt." Brianna replied coyly with a smile straight off the Mona Lisa.

Claire smiled at her husband, returning her gaze to the road ahead, "One can't fault him for his kindness to the boy. Then again, Lord John has already proven himself a loving guardian to errant Fraser boys."

Pained by the memories, Jamie frowned at his wife, "What would induce ye to say such a thing? Ye ken well Bree hath no notion of William bein' her kin. She may overhear ye and then where will we all be! Fer shame, Claire! Don't invite quarrels ahead o'their time!"

"We are a single day's ride away from his home, Jamie," Claire rebutted, temper flaring, "tomorrow she will meet William and she deserves to know who he really is before she becomes part of the lie. You must make him tell her, Jamie, tonight for all our sakes."

"No need. I had already planned to tell her tonight, Mistress Fraser," Lord John spoke from behind his future in-laws, "I too agree that she cannot be Mistress of Rosscarne without knowing the identity of its heir."

"Lord John, I-" Claire stuttered slightly at being caught in a slight meddle.

"You are right to be concerned. Let me assure you I have not kept the nature of _my _son's parentage a secret from your daughter for nefarious reasons. I simply did not want to mar the duration of this journey should Brianna be overwhelmed by the news of her stepson."

"Fair enough." Claire responded brusquely.

Seeking to break the tension, Jamie espied his grandson still in his friend's hold and smirked, "Now, John, will ye seek te kidnap a man's only gran'child when he'll soon be livin' with ye always? Or will ye happily surrender yer charge to me an' see if I can't coax a laugh outta the wee bairn?"

John quickly abandoned all strain and chuckled at his Highlander friend, "Kidnap?! Me?! Never! As I recall, sir, t'was you who at our inaugural meeting played the kidnapper."

"Aye, you're right, t'was."

Claire smiled at the recollection of her brief moment as a hostage to her husband in which present company had acquitted himself admirably. Doubtless, that had endeared him when the pair met again at Ardsmuir and found their true mutual admiration.

"I shall never forget your honour that day," Claire announced to her gentlemen, as they exchanged the baby, "you were - and still are, if I may be so bold - a very striking young man. Forgive my words, they were not unkindly meant."

John shook his head, "No need for forgiveness. Your care for your daughter shall always be well met, as I trust, might mine come to be...in good time. For I do, you know? Care for her and the boy."

"You do not need to reassure me on that count. I can see that you do. I know it's just a mother's worry, Lord John, and in turn, trust you will learn to know it as such...in good time."

With a gentle nod, John left his fiancée's son in his grandfather's capable and tender embrace and retreated Demelza back to the boy's mother in the wagon.

"Brianna my dear, this is our last night in the wilderness before you shall have the comforts of Rosscarne. I have something that you need to know before we reach its threshold. Would you join me and your father in a dram this evening? Your mother and Lizzie can tend the boy."

The young lady's fiery, inquisitive eyes turned their full scrutiny towards Grey. "Something you and da have kept from me? Does mama know what it is you will tell me?"

"Yes, she does. In full. Moreover, she knows I mean to tell you tonight what we three have knowledge of while you stand ignorant yet."

"Very well," Brianna acquiesced, eyes still wary and examining her husband-to-be's face for any sign of impending death and doom, "fetch me away when you like."

Once Lord John had nodded his assent and drove his mare back towards her parents, Brianna began to worry her thumbs as she used to do when trouble loomed over the horizon.

"What can that be, mistress?" Lizzie asked with all her usual tact.

"Truly, I can't be sure. We all have our secrets, Lizzie." And she knew that whatever her intended had to confess to her, she too had a secret Lord John must be told in time and it had the potential to wreck any and all esteem he had for her and her child.

That evening when a simple fare of rabbit and vegetable stew had been demolished by all who sat about the campfire, John approached Brianna and called her away with a mere caress of his hand upon her elbow.

He led her to a tree with a pretty stump for her to adorn still in sight of their party but far enough away to safeguard their conversation from being overheard. Once she had arranged herself, John knelt on his calves so their heights were matched and they reposed face-to-face.

"First, let me tell you again that I am very much looking forward to showing you Rosscarne in all its glory tomorrow and I trust you will be content in your new home and in the title of Lady Grey that will hastily ensue. I never thought to have another Lady John Grey and most definitely never intended for my son, William, to have any siblings. This will come as no surprise to you, given what you know concerning my...proclivities."

"You know that doesn't matter a jot to me!" Brianna quickly interjected.

John smiled freely, "And that is a boon most unexpected but most appreciated, Brianna. Now, despite that, you must know that I care for you most dearly and it is my heartfelt wish to ensure your present and future happiness in any way I am able."

"Yes, John, you have been most kind. Though I've done little to deserve it."

"What does deserving have to do with anything? Which of us gets what we deserve in life? If we did, I should be hung, drawn and quartered at Tyburn for my sins. No, say nothing of deserving. It is irrelevant to what I have to tell you," John huffed, frustrated at getting tangled in rambling thoughts, "and what I have to tell you relates to William, my son."

"Your son who was in actuality your sister-in-law's son adopted you after she and her husband died, if I have it correct?" Brianna asked, recalling their earlier dialogue concerning the boy who would be her stepson.

"Indeed. You have part of it correct, Brianna, the part the world knows to be correct. But, there is something about my boy you need to know that the world can never know or it would ruin him and me swiftly after. It is something known to only four people living: myself, your parents and my former father-in-law, Lord Dunsany. Tell me, my dear, has your father ever spoken to you of his time at a house called Helwater?"

"No, I don't believe I've heard of it." She replied somewhat befuddled.

John heaved a sigh as he knew he would have to begin further near the beginning than he wished but he was determined there would be candor between them from henceforth. "There came a time - at Ardsmuir - when I could no longer hold your father as my prisoner. I sought to have him paroled and he was sent to stay at the estate of Lord Dunsany, called Helwater. His identity as a Highlander laird was never divulged to his hosts and he was put to work as a groom."

"So, da must have known William's mother and your first wife?" Brianna worked out.

"Indeed he did. In particular, he knew William's mother, Geneva. She was uncommonly pretty and in a time when your father missed your mother and you a great deal, she...provided some comfort."

"What do you mean exactly, John?" Brianna frowned, unwilling to put to words her mind's inklings.

"Geneva was wed to Ellesmere and seven months later, entered her confinement."

"So, your son, is my brother?" Brianna asked, tears and horror percolating violently.

"He is."

Brianna rose and began to pace before him still on his knees. "William is my father's son. Four people know; mama knows. Wait, William himself has no idea?"

"No, Brianna. While William remembers your father as Mac his friend from the stables, he does not know that the same is the man who sired him. Knowing it would wound him and he would know he does not deserve his title nor the wealth he will one day have in his power. As it is, I mean to remove from him his Grey titles and bestow them upon our child for the sake of fairness. Do not take steps to see him from Ellesmere too. I warn you, though I care for you, that will go beyond my forgiveness. He has already lost two parents, an aunt whom he looked on as a mother and when confronted recently with losing me to a sickness, he was most unquieted. I would not see him in further upheaval. It is in everybody's best interest to keep your relationship to each other beyond stepmother and stepson secret. If you wish it, I will summon your father so you may hear from him also."

"I think that's a good idea." She whispered, her resolve to be outraged already diminishing but her confusion at her prospective household settling in.

John rose and approached the encampment where he clasped Jamie about the shoulders and nearly dragged him away from the fireside and towards his only living daughter.

"So, ye ken the story of yer brother, a leannan? What have ye need of from me?"

"Oh da," Brianna moaned forlornly, "I'm at a loss what to do, what to think. I am almost convinced I want to go _home_."

Jamie knew full well what his daughter meant by 'home'. Though she was as strong a lass as he could have wished for in a daughter, she was from a different time, a time with less cares and rules and worries. She could have had her child and lived without a husband in her time, but as she found herself in his and couldn't be sure of her bairn's fate should she attempt the journey back to the time of her birth. He knew it might happen at some point and would probably be to her benefit and that of his grandson if they could return to America in the 1970s. He would be sore with grief should the time come and Claire would be in a sorry state so if Brianna could find some happiness with John and indeed, with her brother, all the better.

He pulled her into his arms as he did when first they met and soothed her softly, "Ach, Bree. Dinna say that. Ye cannae go back home, ye ken. Not when Lord John's promised ye such a living and title and an estate for the bairn to boot. No one expects ye to like what ye've been told tonight or tomorrow but I, fer one, am glad ye ken you'll be living with yer brother. It comforts me to know my bairns will get to know one another. It's not under circumstances I would have wished for but it's circumstances I approve of. Fer, I trust very few men alive more than John here," Jamie beckoned to his future son-in-law, "but none of the others would I like better to have a care for my kin."

"Brianna, what can I do to assuage your unrest?" John asked, apprehensively watching his fiancée take comfort from her father's strength.

"Nothing, John," she murmured forlornly, "I'll get used to the idea, I know. It's just a shock. I look forward to meeting my brother tomorrow at Rosscarne. I'm only sorry he'll never know he's my brother."

"So you won't tell him?"

"No," Brianna responded, pulling out of her da's hug to address her fiancé, "I shan't. I see that we all benefit from his thinking that he is who he has been told. It seems my boy especially will benefit. When did you decide to change his inheritance?"

John smiled, "During our first day travelling Brianna. The first day he slept in my arms. I realised all young William needs of me is my love and care - he will inherit Ellesmere and Helwater and small estates at Derwent and Ashness. That left _our _child with very little in the balance of things. Besides, I fully intend to promote him as my natural child and all of society here and at home know William to be my adopted son, so it seems just and right to me that for what little Grey assets I have should go to a boy all and sundry shall perceive as my own child."

"And William won't be concerned with his sudden loss of wealth?"

"No, William knows he has enough in his name or bound for his name with no competition since his aunt perished childless. What William will lose in pecuniary affairs, I hope he shall gain thricefold in love: a brother's love, a mother's love and though it must never be acknowledged - a sister's love."

"He will have it all." Brianna promised, smiling at her father and fiancé.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Apologies for the delay in chapters. I've had a renewed flow of creative juices since I've been on holiday in Cornwall and I've written this chapter overlooking the River Fowey from my room at the Inn in Bodinnick (Daphne du Maurier country) so I hope you enjoy Chapter 5 - the halfway point. This is the last chapter before Brianna becomes Lady Grey, which I'm hoping to write tomorrow evening so enjoy the last chapter of Brianna Fraser.**

**DaenerysTargary3n**

**Chapter V**

_Rosscarne House, Lynchburg, Virginia_

As the party entered the wrought iron gates of John's estate, they were greeted by a beautiful manor house built in what Brianna and her mother knew to be the Colonial Georgian tradition. In their time, houses like these were schools or museums or the many rooms divided into individual apartments. Now, as they approached the house with its staff of what looked like forty all in rows outside, waiting to greet their new mistress, Brianna was agog at the prospect before her. She was American, as these folks were, but in her America, people did not have mastery over others. She was reminded once again that her America was a very different beast in its earliest days.

"Well, Brianna," John said, leaning from his horse, "what do you think of your new home?"

"It's...beautiful, John. Beyond what I expected." Brianna gulped audibly.

Her fiancé smiled kindly at her skittish and widened eyes, and murmured, "I know it is a large estate. Larger than what you are used to, my dear, but it is not so daunting as all that. Now, were you to have the good fortune - or bad, depending on your perspective - to be my eldest brother Hal's bride, then, you would be the Mistress of Pardloe Abbey. Now, that is a commanding frontage meant to scare heir's wives into producing male children to inherit it. Rosscarne is merely the comfortable home of the fourth son, who has been largely forgotten by his esteemed family back in England and made very little progress as part of the militia sent against the Highland army so has been abandoned to the Indies and the colonies to be out of sight, out of mind."

"That is a very self-deprecating thing to say of yourself, John," Brianna remarked, knowing full well her husband-to-be was a man all his kin should be proud to call family, "please don't believe your achievements or actions are anything less than heroic and the stuff any wife would be proud to have in her husband."

John could find no words to respond with so bowed his head in kindness and drove Demelza forward so he led the party to his door. Once the figures came clearer into sight, he could make out a jumpy lad who was being held stationary (as much as was possible) by a nursemaid. The vision made him smile right from lips to eyes. William.

Forcing the mare into a short gallop for the last few yards of the manor drive, John leapt from his saddle and was well met by his son's tight embrace.

"Father!" William cried, as he ran to his father's arms, ducking out of Maria's clutches. She had been so concerned that his new stepmother would be displeased with his open temperament and easy emotion with his father. William cared not a fig for whatever new wife his father had found. He knew his father's love for him was steadfast and immutable. No woman would come between them.

"William, my boy," John greeted his son, enfolding him in his arms, "you have grown some since I have been from home. Unforgivable."

"Don't be from home for such a long time, then." William rejoindered, a glint in his eye.

"Fair enough."

John turned himself about, not releasing the boy, as the wagon along with Claire and Jamie's steeds arrived at the house. "We welcome you, Frasers, Mistress Cameron and friends to Rosscarne. Brianna, my dear, welcome to your new home."

William recognised the front riders - Mac, or Jamie, as it turned out his real name was, and his wife, Claire - but the two women in front of the wagon and those within were unknown to him.

"Ah, William," Jamie said, in good cheer and with a bow as he too dismounted, "an honour to see ye again. Now with ye father in better health. Ye ken my wife, Claire. Allow me to introduce the others here wi'me."

Jamie neared the still wagon and held his arm out to assist the ladies in the vehicle, as they descended, Jamie reeled off their names, "This is me aunt, Mistress Jocasta Cameron, her man Ulysses is there. This would be me son's wife, Mistress Marsali. Fergus, my lad, is unloading there. And this, this, is me daughter, Miss Brianna Fraser, who will soon be your mama. And this young lad, here, who-"

"Yes, indeed, this young lad," John interrupted, shifting suddenly forward to take Brianna's arm and the bundle that lay with her, "will be your brother, William. He is my son."

The air in Rosscarne changed distinctly after its master made his announcement. The downstairs staff's eyes widened in unison and they had to police their aghast reactions. William took a step back from his place watching Jamie and the ladies he was introducing. William knew his father was bringing his intended and that it would mean he would likely have siblings in his future. He did not know that his honourable papa had rather jumped the gun and already sired a son.

"A brother? I have a brother?"

John sighed, taking in the lad's disquiet, unhidden on his young face, "William, he is your brother and though the timing is...regrettable, I will be wed to his mother, Brianna. She is most eager to come to know you and be a mama to you both. It is not my wish to discuss how we shall live in this manner before our guests are settled into their chambers. Will you come inside and meet your brother properly?"

"I will." He replied curtly.

William's fathers both shared a worried glance as they watched the boy enter the house. That had gone about as well as could be expected. In truth, John was pleased that he had been forced to address the topic of Brianna and the baby in public as Lord William Ransom's temper was as fiery as his natural father's hair. Isobel had ever taught him well that in public tempers were not permitted to fray under any circumstances. She had been a mild woman with simple expectations and an easy-going nature, and it had been her great endeavour to instill as calm a nature in her child as she could. He missed her too greatly now to ignore her lessons and her effect on him.

John stood proud before his staff and announced, "Thank you for your kind welcome, everyone. It is a wonder to see my home again and my son, who looks well and I thank you all for your studious care of him in my absence. Now, you will all know of my impending nuptials. It has been a long while since Rosscarne has had its rightful mistress as my late wife never made it to the threshold. Thankfully, and by the Grace of God, I have found a new kindred spirit. In three weeks, once the banns have been read, we will be married. A week thereafter, we shall have a Christening for our son. As you see, my intended comes with her people to stay before the wedding. From now on, Mistress Fraser's words and orders are no less than had they come from me. Now that's settled, Mrs Stanton will you show my guests to their quarters?"

The middle-aged and austere housekeeper stepped forward from her place beside the butler with a curtsy and began instantly ordering maids about and directing luggage to footmen. The Fraser-Cameron-Wemyss party were ushered inside after Lord John and shown about the house to various rooms. Brianna - and by extension the fussing babe she toted - was the last to be escorted upstairs. She had begun to wonder about arrangements for herself but just before she was about to go in search of John, a sullen, slight maid appeared with a short bow and asked her to follow.

As Brianna ascended the great staircase to the main bedchambers, now crying child in-hand, she noticed the eyes of any and all staff who passed her glance at her boy with what appeared to be contempt and she was regarded with even less esteem, if that were possible. She supposed it was truly scandalous to their almost Puritan hearts to have an unwed mother with her bastard son reside with her fiancé before they were married. Well, in three weeks' time she would be Lady Brianna Grey and her son would be 'The Honourable' after that so all would be settled. She would just have to contend with these weeks of ignominy and disdain. John and her parents would help her through it no doubt.

"These are the Lady of the House's rooms. They were set to Lady Isobel's tastes, but they'll be comfortable enough, I'm sure for before your wedding. Then _after_, you can alter the house as you wish."

"You are very bold to speak to me so." Brianna rebutted. To tolerate passing stares and whispers taken behind her back were one thing, but this girl's brazenness was too overt to go unremarked. "What right have you to judge me?"

"Forgive me, Mistress," the girl began with wary eyes and a retreating manner, "I know I'm too bold for my own good. Mrs Stanton often beats me for it. I didn't mean to speak out of turn. I've not had a mistress since I've been in service and one of the older girls, Nellie, who lights the fires, she said I was right to tell you when I brought you up that the room was going to be Lady Isobel's and we were waiting for her, then next we hear, the master has a child whelped on you before you were married. Nellie said that after your wedding you can change what you wish. Mistress, I didn't mean any offence. Please don't have me dismissed. I'm only a month into service and my ma can't have me back. I've five younger brothers and sisters and my father away at sea."

Brianna took pity on the slip of a girl before her, who had evidently been the object of another's prank. "How old are you? And what's your name?"

"Mildred, ma'am. And I'm thirteen."

The young mother who looked at her baby was reminded just how different this century was to her own. Heavens, that a girl of thirteen, not even a woman, was already away from home and earning a wage that her mother needed to support her other children was desperate. "No, I'll not dismiss you, don't worry. Just, be more careful next time you listen to this Nellie, was it?"

"Yes, ma'am, I surely will. Thank you, thank you ever so." Mildred said, a smile bright as sunlight breaking out across her face.

"Then, we'll say no more about it. Would you have Miss Wemyss sent in to me?" Brianna asked, taking a seat at the dressing table.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: This chapter is looooooonnnngggg. It kind of took on a life of its own and wrote itself and I couldn't bring myself to stop it. It broaches elements of John's past which may affect readers (references to sexual assault) so please be advised. I really enjoy where this story is going and this was a great fluffy chapter to write that brings our leads closer together. We're also over 1/2 way there now - only 4 chapters left! So, keep with this story and do leave a review.**

**DaenerysTargary3n**

**Chapter VI**

"Brianna, ye look...beautiful." The proud father said, eyes brimming with tears of pride at the sight of his only living daughter on her wedding day.

They stood in the chapel vestibule just them two while Marsali, Brianna's Matron of Honour, waited outside. After arriving at Rosscarne, almost one month ago, Brianna had arranged her wedding with Claire's help with great aplomb. The day was simple but beautiful - every detail was done to represent the bride and groom but she took care not to cause Lord John a wild expense. Governor Tryon had taken pains to attend the event and several other rich landowners in Virginia had come to witness the marriage of the leading noble in the territory.

"Thank you, da. You don't look too bad yourself." Brianna quipped.

"Don't talk nonsense, a leannan."

"A leannan. That's what you called me when we met in Wilmington." Brianna recalled.

"Aye, and ye'll always be my bairn, my leannan, mo chridhe. No matter where - or when - ye live, whom ye wed, and what ye do. I'll always be your da and I ken well I've hurt ye in the past through my folly and need to protect ye, but I'll always love ye with all my heart and soul."

Brianna watched her father nearly collapse into floods of tears. She knew the loss of Roger weighed heavy on his heart still and he regretted his part in what had caused her handfast husband to leave her to return to more modern times. In truth, she still missed Roger painfully at times, but those times were growing less and less as her attention was taken up with her son and all things Rosscarne. The distractions were plentiful and attention-grabbing - much to her delight. John had also played his role in keeping her mind away from her former husband. They had shared many an evening in each other's company talking, playing with the baby, playing chess; indeed, Lord John had found her to be as ferocious an opponent in that game as her father.

"Da, I know. I forgave you for your part in that a long time ago. Truly. I know it was a terrible misunderstanding but you were doing what you thought right to protect me. I hope you'll always protect me no matter where I am or whose wife I am or _when _I am."

Jamie flinched at the reminder that his wife and his daughter were bound by nothing to remain in his lifetime. He was glad to walk her down the aisle to Lord John and that they would be man and wife in name if not in heart. He knew though, from his longtime knowledge of his friend's nature, John truly cared for Bree and her son. So much so, that if they ever were to return to the time she was born in, John was like to never recover from the loss of them. Especially, if he was never to learn of the secret the Frasers kept regarding how Claire came to be in Jacobite Scotland.

"I don't want to spoil your day, Bree, but please, for my sake, at some point when yer Lady Grey, tell John the truth. He's seen enough of this world and has read enough books to understand and believe what ye tell 'im. I can see the love he bears the bairn and the friendship he has for ye. Dinna leave him for yer own time wi'out making him understand. That'd be a poor way to repay his kindness to all our family."

Brianna nodded. The thought had been niggling at her constantly since - in fact - their time together at River Run. She knew she would eventually disclose the truth of her existence to her husband, but when he was bound to her in matrimony and not before. They had both developed a bond and she would not break it so violently by flitting off back to the 20th century leaving him in sad ignorance. "I will tell him, da, I've already made up my mind to. I just need to pick the right time."

"Will ye two get a flamin' move on so we can get Brianna marrit today?" Marsali's irritated Gaelic drawl arrived moments after her fist banging on the door.

"Haud yer wheesht, Marsali! We're coming. Cannae a father have a few moments to give his only daughter his wisdom on the day o'her weddin'?!" Jamie bellowed back, winking at Bree in jest at riling up her sister-in-law.

"Wisdom?! What wisdom do ye possess? Ye ferget, daddy, I ken ye! Ye've got as much wisdom in yer whole body as I've got balls!"

Marsali's crassness made father and daughter snort before Jamie whipped the door between them open and glared at the young woman. "Do ye want all Virginia to hear yer screechin', woman? To ken us folk as brutish, ill-bred peasants who dinna ken how to behave on the day of _Lord _John Grey, the Lord Lieutenant of Lynchburg's weddin'?!"

With her hackles raised, the Highland lass retorted, "What weddin'? Tell me, what weddin' will there be while ye both stay within makin' the bride late for her marriage ceremony and talkin' endlessly? By the time ye've finished yer chatter, Lord John'll be an old codger and I'll be waitin' on me grandchildren."

"Alright, enough," Brianna interjected with an amused and enduring smirk, "Marsali, you're right. We are late. Will you go ahead and we'll be right behind you? It is time I was married."

Marsali harrumphed before righting her bonnet and small bouquet of pink roses with a thistle in the centre and processing down the short aisle.

"Well, are you ready to give me away, da?"

Jamie looked one final time at Miss Brianna Fraser as she hooked her arm around the crook of his elbow and murmured softly, "No. Never. I'll never give thee away, but I'll gladly share care o'you with him. There's none other I could have left you with, daughter. I just hope ye'll be happy wi'him. With the way he is."

"He is everything he should be and needs to be for me. He is a kind, gentle, honourable man who cares for and respects me for more than my body and who loves you as much as I do, though in a different way. He would never hurt me, da, for to hurt me would hurt you and that is something he could never do."

Her father nodded, knowing her words to be true though they had never broached the topic of John's feelings towards him so overtly. "Let's go then. Or Marsali will return and heckle us."

As the pair of Frasers, proud and splendid, promenaded down the aisle past the pews of well wishers, friends and family, they drew the eyes of all but none more so than the bridegroom standing just before the altar with his son beside him waiting for Brianna's hand to be placed in his own.

John caught his fiancée's eyes as she neared him. Her cobalt eyes matched with her brickish hair were aglow. She looked every bit the lady she was about to become. She had her father's features no doubt as they walked side-by-side and he knew she possessed his fiery, Scottish temper but also that indomitable pride and confidence that she inherited from her mother. He wondered to himself that he had quite outdone himself in his second wife, for she was a remarkable combination of everything he loved in her father and everything he needed from his lady wife. The knowledge she had of his true self made her all the more a charming prospect in a spouse. Quickly, he scrutinised his young son's face, and was comforted to see no malice or dislike. Over the past weeks, William had been standoffish and taciturn to Brianna, preferring the company of Jamie and Fergus. They had not bonded fast as John had hoped they might, but that might have been too much good luck in one go. He was content in that they had not made enemies of each other as should he one day need to he would be loath to choose between them. In fact, though William remained cool but civil to his half-sister, he had taken to ferrying his young brother about and showing him the nooks and crannies of Rosscarne that delighted him. All in all, a good beginning for their small family.

By the time John had concluded his reverie, Brianna's father was ready to place his daughter's hand into that of her intended. Brianna had fashioned a beautiful periwinkle blue gown with a silver trim. Her hair was done in Highland braids and her lace veil was delicately draped obscuring her full visage. The edges of her fichu were embroidered with a simple purple thistle motif while almost invisible (unless your eyes sought them out) on the hem of her dress were white roses. They both turned to face the priest, and calmly spoke their vows.

"You may now kiss the bride."

Brianna cringed. She had not prepared herself for this part of the ceremony, indeed, she had forgotten she would need to kiss her husband. She knew it was expected and she would not shame her husband in front of his peers and friends, who believed they were such a love match that they hadn't been able to wait for the ceremony and already procreated. She would kiss him chastely, respectably and have done with it.

John had other ideas. He knew that some in the ranks of spectators to his wedding were in full doubt that he had fathered Brianna's child. He knew that some there were wondering how a purported pillow biter had come to have not one, but two attractive wives and what he would do with them come the bedding. He knew that William needed to be persuaded that his papa was absolutely besotted with his new mama so he could be better persuaded to find a place in his own heart for her.

The new husband bore down on his wife's lips with all his vigour and ardour. He encapsulated her small, plump lips in his own and revered them for what could have been seconds or minutes. He was surprised at Brianna's response, which was not to resist or flinch, but to go along with his ruse. She cupped his neck with her hand and met his lips with equal fervour.

"Thank you." John breathed in hushed tones against her lips, before stepping back.

Together, as man and wife, as Lord and Lady Grey, as parents to Lord William Ranson, 9th Earl of Ellesmere and The Honourable Master Grey, Brianna and John walked back up the aisle among glimmering smiles and nods of approval. What more could the couple ask for?

That question flitted through the minds of both Lord and Lady as they took part in their wedding feast. As they both picked at the pheasant and blackberry sauce on their plates, their guests danced, conversed and drank the hours away. Bree watched as her da's attention was hogged by Tryon, no doubt discussing the tax issues in the Carolinas. Claire, meanwhile, was dancing with Fergus so Marsali could attend to Brianna's child. John on her left was playing a game of cat's cradle with William, both of their dinners unattended. It was not quite the wedding of her dreams - there were no stolen moments and kisses with her bridegroom, there was no anxious presentiment for the wedding night. However, with this night and her marriage, she breathed. She breathed easy and it was all thanks to her husband. She could not precisely put into words how grateful she was for all Lord John had bestowed upon her: his name, his wealth, his protection and his love for her (or was it truly their?) son.

"John?"

He looked away from William and his game, smiled at her kindly and replied, "Yes, my dear?"

"Would you indulge me in a dance on our wedding day?" Brianna asked, holding her hand out.

Taking it gently, John remarked, "But of course, milady, for what kind of husband is it who denies his wife?"

"A poor one." Brianna answered before turning to her stepson, "William, while your father turns me around the floor, I do believe my da deserves to be rescued from the Governor. Perhaps, you are up to the task?"

John turned to look beside him and watched as William overcame his instinct to disobey his new stepmama and instead observed his natural father being bored to tears at his only daughter's wedding. "I will venture over and save him then. He is...family now after all."

As William wandered away, Brianna caught John's fast paling face and squeezed the hand she still held, "He means that he is my da and now we are married, and I am his stepmother, Jamie is family. Don't worry yourself so, John, you'll end up in an early grave."

His features softened and he let loose the breath he had been holding, "Only been wed a few hours and already dreaming of my end."

Brianna chuckled at his teasing, "What a poor match for us both! You've married a wife who hopes for your death and I've married a man who won't even dance with me on my wedding day. How will we carry on?!"

John lifted her hand to place a chaste kiss upon it before rising and taking her with him, "We will dance, we will have a brief word with your family, we will kiss the young masters good night - both of them - and then we will retire."

"Together?"

"You are my wife, Brianna, of course, we will retire together." John replied, absolute certainty and the bearing of nobility in his tone.

They danced in each other's arms and to the host of spectators they appeared as in love as two foolish teenagers. Brianna smiled yearningly at John, John attentively caressed her skin each time they held hands in the steps. It was the perfect ruse of two lovers now wed in bliss. Little did the wedding guests know that every caress and every smile was rehearsed.

The music soon came to a halt and the newlyweds bid Claire, Jamie, Fergus, Marsali, Jocasta and young William a good night.

"Will ye not wish me to keep the bairn tonight, Brianna?" Marsali asked before the couple departed.

Brianna took her young boy from her sister-in-law's arms, "No, but thank you for the offer. I would sooner have him with me."

Before the baby could get comfortable in his mother's embrace, John stole him, "He will be with _us_. I will carry him up, Brianna, but let us retire. I am, I confess, a touch weary."

"I wish you both a pleasant night, milord," Fergus smirked, "may it be full of satisfaction."

"Hold ye tongue, Fergus!" Jamie chided. With a look at his daughter and new son-in-law, he knew they would go to the same bed, but he trusted John that the chastity of his daughter would be unassailed. Theirs would be a marriage in name only.

"It's alright," Brianna said calmly, touching her da's arm, before turning to her adopted brother, "thank you, Fergus. I'm sure we will have the night we have hoped for."

John smiled before leading her away to their bedchamber with one arm, holding their son with the other.

Once they reached his bedroom, a room Brianna had yet to set foot in, she was surprised to see a small crib in the corner already prepared for the baby. Yet again, she was bowled over by how natural the thought of others came to her husband. The rest of the room was decorated richly but in good taste - it reminded Brianna of old estates that were converted into museums in her time. It was definitely a man's room - the furnishings were simple and practical, yet hard. The only soft features of the room were the four-poster bed bedecked in a sumptuously embroidered coverlet with a leafy pattern and the new addition of the crib. The chair by the fireplace, the surfaces of the ottoman, even the small window seat, were left bereft of cushions or material. They were wooden and hard - in distinct opposition to their owner. It was a room that spoke volumes to his loneliness. She dejectedly thought to herself that as the Lord of the Manor, any maidservant or young lady he wished to bed, he could have brought into this room and had his way with and very few people (save objecting fathers) would have given it a second thought. Yet, with his predilection for his own sex, she doubted whether he had ever brought his fleeting companions into his sanctum sanctorum. It simply wouldn't have been safe.

"Am I the first you've brought here?" Brianna had to ask, before her curiosity killed her.

John turned from laying the child in its crib, "The first? Ah, you mean, have I had men here in this room?"

She nodded.

"No. No, Brianna, I've never taken a lover in Rosscarne...and I have no intention of ever taking a lover in this house. Never fear that you will happen again upon one of my assignations. I believe one obtrusion is more than enough."

"That's not what I meant, John," Brianna sighed, pulling the lacings free of her gown, "I was just curious. And I suppose I'm nervous as well."

"Why should you be nervous?" John asked with trepidation.

"I know we're not going to consummate this marriage, but the last time I laid down beside a man, John, it was…" Brianna's voice tailed off as her hands began to shake with the memory.

"It was Bonnet." John finished for her, walking over to her softly.

Slowly, kindly, protectively Brianna was drawn to his chest and was wrapped in his arms - not to trap, but to enfold and safeguard. She was comforted to no end by him. She felt her fear and nerves ebb away under his sheer will to be a friend and a person of trust to her.

While he held her firm against him, John could feel the point of his dagger digging dangerously into his side. It would have to come off but in his wife's apparently skittish presence, first it would have to be explained. "Brianna, can you feel that sharp metal on my waistband?"

"Yes. I can."

"I would like you very much to remove it from my belt and set it down on the drawers there." John instructed, holding her gaze.

Brianna frowned at the odd direction, but lowered her hands to unclasp his belt. She thought that were he any other man she would have been affronted. With John though, she knew beyond any doubt that he was not trying to take sexual advantage of her, but that his motives lay elsewhere.

As she drew his belt away, she felt the item in question slide towards her along the fine leather. To her surprise, she soon held a dagger. As it sat cold in her hand, she beheld its beauty. The handle was carved bone with a scalloped motif while the pommel bore English roses before the blade disappeared into the blue and brown leather sheath. A noble, treasured blade.

"But, why? You've had this all day? During our wedding?" Brianna asked, placing the knife down.

John huffed and sat on the bed, before inviting her to sit beside him. This was going to be a long, arduous tale for him to tell and her to hear. They might as well both be comfortable. He didn't envisage his second wedding night transpiring this way but he owed his wife all his story and the truth he should have shared with her when she first divulged the horrors of Stephen Bonnet to him.

"May I help you as I answer your questions? It is a long tale I have to tell you to answer it and by the end you may well wish to sleep elsewhere with the lad. We might as well be ready for bed by the end of it."

"Yes, you may help me with my lacings. Thank you. I'm sure there's nothing you could tell me that would make me leave though, John. Just tell me why you've been wearing a dagger on your wedding day of all days."

As he recommenced pulling away the laces on her gown, John began. He told her how the dagger was the first thing he purchased for himself with his army wages at the tender age of seventeen. From then on, he never went anywhere without it being about his person. It was his lucky dagger and it had seen him through many sticky situations any of which might have been the setting of his ultimate end. Soon enough, once she had slipped out of her gown, Brianna was left in her shift and he began to undress himself unabashedly, aware her eyes canvassed him as he removed each layer.

He continued once they were back on the bed, sitting against the headboard, legs under the coverlet side-by-side. He explained that the reason he bought the dagger was one officer who went by the name of Lieutenant Tarquin Godolphin - a thirty-year-old officer in the 46th regiment in which John served as a young man. John looked away from Brianna's eyes as he narrated the night of January 11th 1746. On manoeuvres in Kielder Forest preparing to encounter the Jacobite forces in the lead up to the Battle of Culloden, while they were encamped, Godolphin summoned him to his tent. It was widely accepted that no one ever refused an order from him. John, not knowing what awaited him, from the strictest of his superior officers, went after the officers had finished supping.

It was now John's hands that trembled as he described to Brianna his terror as Godolphin had shoved him down onto the cot and imprisoned him with the weight of his beefy form.

"I remember pain. I remember blood. I remember dirt. I'm not entirely sure I remember what happened during or immediately after." John gulped. "I know that I was afraid then. I know that I eventually - once I had collected myself - returned to the scouts tent which I shared with four other boys."

Brianna shifted closer to him, unable to stomach the sight of his sides buckling with the emotion of his past and his eyes misting over with the tears he could not bring himself to shed in another's company. She leant against him and settled her hand over both of his. She did not need to say anything - he did not need her at this moment to utter a word in interruption.

He described his listlessness and apathy in the weeks that followed. He did his duty but refrained from joining his comrades round the fire at night, he lost his appetite and ate but a morsel a day, he was abrupt to his commanding officer, Lieutenant Hector Paget. All this before he was finally called before the Lieutenant and asked what ailed him. Hector had immediately understood his young charge's change in behaviour when John said he had met with Godolphin. Hector went on to say he knew precisely what John was suffering, having been the recipient of Tarquin Godolphin's attention himself. The two of them formed quite the attachment and it wasn't long until seventeen-year-old John was quite smitten with Hector who was only two years his senior.

"He was my first lover and I loved him fiercely" John reminisced with a faint smile gracing his lips, "and I truly believe he would have been 'it' for me. I could have loved him for the rest of my days - he saved me, you see, from myself and from Godolphin. It was him who took me to buy the dagger so that no matter where I was, if I kept it about me, I would always be protected and would come back to him safely. Anyway, like your parents, Culloden stood in our way. Hector was in the battle, where I was called away by my brother. I was in London when the call to arms came and it was only after that I learned Hector had been killed. I have never known a heartbreak like it. Except for your father, he is the only man I have ever truly loved, Brianna."

As he raised his head to meet his wife's eyes, he found tears that mirrored his own, he found a body that had borne the same pains as his own, he found a heart that had survived the same griefs as his own. In Brianna, he found his partner in all things, in all things save one.

"You are not disgusted or repelled by me? You do not wish to seek your rest elsewhere?"

Brianna took his face in her hands and held it firm and still so she could speak into his eyes and he would not turn from her. "I could _never_ in a thousand years be disgusted by you. You speak of Hector as your saviour and how much you loved him. Well, John Grey, you were - and are - my saviour and I love you; maybe not romantically, but I love you. I'll never abandon you and even though we are husband and wife in name alone, you are the father of my child and are my very best friend here. You never need to hide yourself or your troubles from me."

"So, you will stay?" John asked, fear still in every syllable he uttered. He was always the subject of so much speculation and gossip that in his marriage today, he had hoped to put them at bay for a time but if his wife of only a few hours quit his bed and returned to her own, the servants would whisper and he would be once again under public scrutiny.

"I am staying. My place is beside you with our sons." Brianna let go of his face, satisfied he was convinced, and snuggled down into the welcoming bed. "Now, let's sleep, John. The baby will be awake in an hour or two."

Still taken full aback by his wife's calmness and understanding along with her decision to remain in his bed, John waited until she had extinguished the candle and closed her eyes.

"You are an astonishing woman, Lady Brianna."

She smiled serenely, "And you are a most singular man, Lord John. Now, go to sleep, because tomorrow we have a christening to plan."


End file.
